The History of VSTank

Master Du is the 53rd generation descendants of Du Fu, the famous Chinese poet in Tang Dynasty during 712 - 770 AD, he is a natural mechanical design talent, ever since his early day school studies, he revealed a great interest in hobby crafting and design and eventually this passion led him towards the study in mechanical engineering and his graduation thesis was “half-tracked caterpillar tractor design”, his work was exceptional and earned him the second place honour in his faculty.  Besides his outstanding talent in mechanical design, he is also an oil painter.

Master Du relocated to Hong Kong in 1984, where he began his career at a prominent toy exporting company. He fondly remembers one of his most significant experiences during that time, which involved leading a project to design a 27MHz AM modulation frequency radio-controlled car. The challenge was to develop the entire design from the ground up within an eight-week timeframe. Fortunately, his design was chosen by Radio Shack, and the project went on to achieve remarkable success, selling over one million units in the North American market.

A decade later, Master Du embarked on a new venture by establishing his own design studio, where he created an innovative four-wheel steering buggy capable of moving in any direction. This groundbreaking design garnered significant attention, leading Television Broadcast Hong Kong (TVB) to request an interview with him.

In 1998, Master Du received a design request from a Japanese trading firm, they represent a famous Japanese hobby manufacturer, they would like to install an airsoft gun mechanism into a radio control tank which was a very novel idea at the time, has never been done by anyone in the industry.

The project presented significant challenges for Master Du, who had to address issues such as motor noise and gas leakage within the gun barrel chamber. A key requirement from the client was to achieve a projectile shooting distance of 25 meters, alongside the necessity for the design to withstand 10,000 test shots. All of these specifications needed to be integrated into a 1/24 scale tank. Ultimately, Master Du's innovative design earned him the project, establishing him as the exclusive supplier.

This 1/24 scale airsoft radio-controlled tank project finally entered production before the turn of the millennium, unveiling its prestigious client: Tokyo Mauri, a leading Japanese airsoft gun manufacturer. The resulting product showcased impressive capabilities, including forward and backward movement, the ability to climb slopes of up to 40 degrees, a turret that could rotate 320 degrees, and a gun barrel that elevated by 20 degrees.

Following the success of the inaugural 1/24 scale radio-controlled tank model, the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force (JGSDF) Type 90 main battle tank, Mauri expanded its offerings by developing two additional renowned models: the US M1A2 Abrams and the German Leopard 2 A6. Both of these new tanks became significant market successes, contributing to the innovative design's reputation as one of the most desirable remote-controlled toys of its era. Between the turn of the millennium and 2003, sales soared, surpassing 84,000 units.

Good things, however, came to an abrupt end when the intermediary between Master Du and Tokyo Mauri committed fraud against both parties. He manipulated the situation by persuading Master Du's factory to extend payment terms, allowing him to ship products without upfront payment, while simultaneously collecting regular payments from Mauri. This betrayal not only derailed their collaboration but also led to a troubling development: other toy manufacturers in Shantou completely copied the tank design. Although Master Du was a pioneer in mechanical design, he failed to register his intellectual property in China at that time, leaving him vulnerable to such infringements.

Despite the series of unfortunate events surrounding the radio control tank design, Master Du's studio gained significant recognition for its expertise in creating radio control products within the Japanese hobby industry. Over the following years, he successfully secured projects to design 1/80 scale radio control buses for Kyosho Corporation and a 1/20 scale Toyota Forklift.

In 2005, Master Du partnered with Steve Ng, the owner of ToyEast Ltd in Hong Kong, to cofound VSTank. With extensive experience in online sales, Steve played a crucial role in helping VSTank identify and establish numerous export opportunities worldwide. This collaboration led to the development of several new tank models, significantly enhancing the company's product fleet.

By 2018, the collaboration between Master Du and Steve had concluded, as Steve sought to fully commit to his new venture, Tiny, which focused on producing localized diecast models for the Greater China market. Concurrently, Master Du made the decision to shut down his factory in Shenzhen, citing the city's significant evolution over the past thirty years that had led to prohibitively high manufacturing costs. Recognizing a mutual connection in Vincent from the Waltersons Industries Group, both Master Du and Steve opted to sell the VSTank brand along with its tooling assets to Vincent, hoping for a more promising future for the business.